Event honored King with speech and song
In honor of Martin Luther King
Jr. Day, a candlelight vigil was
held with guest speakers and
music performances to honor
King’s life and accomplishments.
By CATHERINE MEIDELL
news editor

To set the mood for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, USU’s Access
and Diversity Center, along with the Black Student Union (BSU),
facilitated this year’s annual candlelight vigil in honor of King’s
life and legacy.
The event was stacked with artistic performances and
included guest speaker Mark Flores – an essential element in the
first vigil’s creation, and ended with a moment of silence while
attendees stood in the night air on the Quad holding lit candles.
“It puts a good feeling in my heart that the U.S. is recognizing Martin Luther King (Jr.),” said BSU President Rica Molet. “It
shows he stood up and made a change in the world. We are carrying on what he wanted us to do by reaching out to those who
don’t know about him.”
The event, held in the TSC Ballroom, began with the recitation of from King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and was followed
with a solo musical number by Shalayna Guisao who performed
the black national anthem “Lift Every Voice.” Guisao, a freshman
and vocal performance major, said whenever she sings this song
she feels honored and accomplished.
“The words – they make me emotional,” she said. “I’m proud
of my people and all of our accomplishments.”

THE USU CHAMBER CHOIR PERFORMED Wednesday in the Ballroom for the Martin Luther King Jr. candlelight vigil to commemorate his life and the sacrifices he made for civil rights. USU’s Access and Diversity Center along with the Black Student Union put on
the event. ARMEN HOVSEPYAN photo

Her solo was followed by BSU treasurer T.J. Pratt’s original
monologue, “Antoine Goes to Church,” which recounts the 1968
16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Ala., from
the perspective of a young boy.
USU’s Chamber Choir then performed a musical number
which lead into Mark Flores’ speech. Rachel Brighton, program
coordinator for the Multicultural Student Union, said Flores is a

USU alumnus who initiated the candlelight vigil after Americans
began observing the holiday in 1986.
“Who knows how many people he (Flores) has influenced
through this event alone throughout the years,” Brighton said.

- See VIGIL, page 4

Missing pottery raises ROTC closed for threat
suspicion in art dept.
said in light of recent events in Tucson, they
felt it was necessary to take the threat seriously and close the building.
John DeVilbiss, USU’s public relations
ROTC students were not allowed to attend
executive director, said, “Following the conclass on Tuesday after a verbal threat was
versation with the student, we felt the need to,
made by a male USU student previously
first of all, make sure all our students are safe,
enrolled in the program.
which is why we took those precautions, and
“He made an inclination that could have
then we wanted to intervene if we could.”
been conveyed to harm one of the staff
A behavioral intervention team made up
members,” said Paul Faletto, head of the
of counselers, police, and other university
military science department. “We took basic
administrators met on Tuesday to discuss the
precautions and
events with the
consulted with the
student.
USU police, and
“They sat
we decided that it
down and talked
would be better to
about it, assessed
cancel classes.”
the situation,
Faletto
and decided very
explained the stuquickly that they
dent was taken off
would like to
of the enrollment
get to the source
list after he failed
of the problem.
to meet certain
That is what we
required criteria
did, and after
in the program.
that we were
THE ROTC BUILDING WAS closed for class
The issue was
confident that
addressed Monday Tuesday because of a threat made by a previous student.
the issue had
criminal charges were filed and students were able to
afternoon when the No
been resolved,”
return to class on Wednesday. BRECK BYNGTON photo
threat was made.
DeVilbiss said.
“He was a little
No one
frustrated and
was injured after
made an off the cuff remark,” Faletto said. “It
the incident. Classes reopened on Wednesday,
was more of a veiled threat, but it could have
and no criminal charges were made against
been perceived one way or the other.”
the student.
After the incident occurred, a group of
ROTC personnel and campus police met to
– ariwrees@gmail.com
discuss what action should be taken. Faletto
By ARIANNA REES
staff writer

“I just can’t fathom someone picking up this
huge jar,” Dupont said. “I mean, you’d have to
put it in the trunk of your car or on the passenDuring the winter break, a time of
ger seat.”
giving for many, one USU art student
Dupont said there
“My suspicion is
discovered some of his pottery misswas a buzz around the
ing from the kiln area at the Fine Arts it’s an inside job
ceramics lab regarding
Visual (FAV) building.
two possible suspects.
... you know, the
“It’s almost like someone went
He did not identify the
art department
Christmas shopping,” said theft
individuals, but said he
victim, and graduate student, Robin has its share of
is “pretty certain” he
characters of
Dupont.
knows who did it.
He said somebody took several
“My suspicion is it’s
questionable
pieces of his pottery – including a
an inside job … I think
mental stability” it’s an art student,” said
large jar that weighs 20 to 25 pounds,
a teapot, a vase and a few plates.
ceramics professor and
“I don’t understand at all the menJohn Neely, assistant art department
tality of someone stealing pottery
John Neely. “You
Assistant art depart- head
or artwork in general,” Dupont said,
know, the art department head ment has its share of
“especially from someone who’s making an effort to support their family
characters of questionand put food on the table.”
able mental stability.”
The pieces were taken from an
Whether security
area close to the art department’s outdoor wood- will be tightened as a result has not yet been
fired kiln. He said this happened on or close to
discussed, Neely said, but art students may be
Dec. 19, 2010.
questioning the morality of their peers.
Dupont said it is hard to keep track of the
large number of pieces involved in an exhibition. - See ART, page 3
By DAN SMITH
senior news writer

In the wake of the shooting that occurred on Saturday, Jan. 8
in Tucson, Ariz., USU students and professors are weighing in
on the political storm that has followed the event.
“We feel that this is a time when we need to forget about
partisanship,” said Terry Camp, chairman of the USU College
Republicans. “We should be unifying as a nation and working
together to make sure this never happens again instead of point-

Inside This Issue

ing fingers.”
Damon Cann, professor of political science, said within the
first 24-48 hours after the shooting, fingers were pointed every
which way from Sarah Palin, to the FBI, to the general political
atmosphere in the United States. The right, he said, has been
particularly targeted in large part because of a map posted on
Sarah Palin’s website that illustrated a pair of crosshairs over the
district where the shooting took place. The district was one of
many to be placed in Palin’s crosshairs.
“People have intimated that this was motivated by Tea Party
activism or Sarah Palin,” said professor Cann. “The passage

1/14/11
Civil rights at USU
discussed by current Vice President of
Advancement, Ross
Peterson.
Page 5

Aggie Men’s
Basketball
faced off
against the
Boise State
Broncos last
night.
Page 13

of time has shown as we learn more and more about (Jared)
Loughner and his background that there’s really no indication
that he had links to those sort of things.”
Michael Lyons, professor of political science and a self-proclaimed moderate democrat, said, “As little regard as I have for
Glenn Beck and the other extremist commentators, I don’t think
they should be held accountable for any of this. Crazy people are
going to behave in crazy ways, and we can’t hold the broader cul-

- See GUNS, page 3

www.utahstatesman.com
Pick up a Big Blue Coupon
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retailers, just outside the
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They go fast!
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ClarifyCorrect
The policy of The Utah Statesman is
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would like clarified or find unfair,
please contact the editor at 797-1762
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Nat’lBriefs
Death toll at 381 in
Brazil mudslides
TERESOPOLIS, Brazil (AP)
– Survivors dug at the earth barehanded Thursday, but all they found
were bodies.
It was a scene of muddy destruction in mountain towns north of Rio,
where at least 381 people were killed
when torrential rains unleashed mudslides Wednesday, burying people
alive as they slept.
In the remote Campo Grande
neighborhood of Teresopolis, family
members pulled the lifeless bodies of
loved ones from the muck. They carefully laid the corpses on dry ground,
covering them with blankets.
Flooding and mudslides are common in Brazil when the summer rains
come., but this week’s slides were
among the worst in recent memory.

Atlanta recovers from
winter storm setbacks
ATLANTA (AP) – Days after a
few inches of snow crippled the city,
children are still home from school
and icy highways are still littered
with hundreds of abandoned cars.
Life in Atlanta probably won’t
return to normal until late Friday,
when temperatures finally rise
above freezing.
Frustrated drivers and stranded
travelers couldn’t help but lament
Atlanta’s too-little, too-late
response.
“You’ve got the busiest airport
in the world, and the snow they got
we would have cleaned in a matter of minutes,” said Wayne Ulery,
an Ohio man who was stuck at
Hartsfield-Jackson Airport for three
days.
London and Heathrow Airport
had similar problems recently.

Former U.S.-Iraqi translator accused
DETROIT (AP) – Calling
it a case of betrayal, a prosecutor urged jurors Thursday
to convict a former Army
translator who is charged
with concealing his role as
an agent of the Iraqi government in the U.S. in the
1990s.
Documents recovered in
Iraq after the fall of Saddam
Hussein revealed that Issam
“Sam” Hamama was known
as agent 6129 and had
offered to track Iraqi opposition groups in the U.S., prosecutors said.
Hamama, 60, of El Cajon,
Calif., denied any contact
with foreign governments
when he sought a security
clearance in 2003 to work as

a U.S. military translator in
Iraq, his native country.
“Lies, lies, lies, and then
he’s caught and he’s got to
explain,” Assistant U.S.
Attorney Michael Martin
told jurors.
Defense attorney
Haytham Faraj acknowledged that Hamama had
contact with Iraqi officials
stationed in the U.S. in the
1990s but said he didn’t consider them to be “foreign”
and didn’t know they were
intelligence agents
“They’re kinfolk. They’re
like him,” Faraj said in his
closing argument. “It doesn’t
mean you have to have nefarious intent.”
Jurors were given the case

Faraj said Hamama, a
Chaldean, liked Saddam only
because the dictator favored
Christians. He said his client
passed along benign information about other Iraqi
Christians in the U.S.
“What’s wrong with loving two places equally?”
Faraj told jurors, referring to
Hamama’s affection for Iraq
and the United States.
There is no allegation that
Hamama fed intelligence to
Iraqi forces when he worked
as a U.S. military translator.
Some trial witnesses praised
him for his work in Iraq.
ISSAM GEORGE
“I would trust my life”
HAMAMA, a former U.S. military translator, has been accused
with Hamama, retired Lt.
Col. James Oliver testified. of conspiring to help fallen Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein. AP
photo

Judge refuses to dismiss FLDS rape charge
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Utah
judge has refused to dismiss a rape
charge against a man whose 2001
spiritual marriage to an underage
girl was the basis for the state’s
criminal prosecution of polygamist
sect leader Warren Jeffs.
In a ruling made public
Wednesday, Fifth District Court
Judge G. Rand Beacham said defendant Allen Glade Steed has not
proved that a decision by prosecutors to delay filing the case prevents
him from getting a fair trial.
Steed, 29, was charged with rape
in September 2007, one day after a
jury convicted Jeffs of two counts of
rape as an accomplice and six years
after the alleged crime.
Steed’s attorneys sought a dismissal in October, after the Utah
Supreme Court overturned Jeffs’
convictions in July.
Beacham said Steed had no legal
right to be charged at the same time

prosecutors brought charges against
Jeffs in 2006.
“While I have previously thought
it to be somewhat unique for
Warren Jeffs to have been convicted
of rape as an accomplice when no
one had been convicted of the rape,
I think Mr. Jeffs would have had
a stronger argument to insist on
being tried second,” Beacham wrote.
Steed is a member of Jeffs’
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Steed was 19 when church leaders arranged his 2001 marriage to
his then-14-year-old cousin, Elissa
Wall.
Washington County prosecutors
later used the marriage as the basis
for filing criminal charges of rape as
an accomplice against Jeffs.
During the 2007 trial, Wall said
she objected to the marriage and
was forced into sex.
The Associated Press does not

generally identify people who say
they were sexually assaulted, but
Wall has spoken publicly and published a nationally distributed book
about her life in the church and the
case.
Steed testified on Jeffs’ behalf at
the trial, saying his sexual relationship with Wall was never forced.
The couple’s marriage ended in a
church divorce, known as a release,
in 2004 after Wall became pregnant
with another man’s child.
In court papers, Steed’s attorneys
said the delay in filing the case and
a confidentiality agreement between
Washington County prosecutors
and Wall were used to gain a tactical
advantage over him.
Beacham disagreed, saying the
agreement appears to have been a
necessary element of the Jeffs case
because alleged criminal activity
within the church community has
historically been impossible to

investigate due to the reluctance or
refusal of witnesses to testify.
Beacham said he agreed that
media coverage of the Jeffs case
was “ridiculously over-blown,” but
he rejected the contention that the
effect of that publicity has been
to taint a potential jury pool and
prevent Steed from receiving a fair
trial.
“His argument is based on pure
speculation,” the judge said.
Beacham has rejected previous
petitions for dismissal in the case. A
hearing in the case is set for Feb. 17
in St. George.
Utah prosecutors have not decided whether they will retry Jeffs.
The 55-year-old church leader has
been transferred to Texas where he
is facing trials on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault
and bigamy. The charges stem from
incidents involving underage girls at
a church ranch in Eldorado, Texas.

Lawrence Taylor pleads guilty to 2 N.Y. misdemeanors

NEW CITY, N.Y. (AP) – Former
NFL star Lawrence Taylor pleaded
guilty Thursday to sexual misconEvent to remember
duct and patronizing a 16-year-old
prostitute, misdemeanor charges
youngest victim
that carry no jail time but require
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – The
him to register as a sex offender.
family of the youngest victim of
The 51-year-old ex-linebacker,
the mass shooting in Arizona held
who led the New York Giants to
hands and paused in a moment of
Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991,
silence Thursday under the large
will serve six years’ probation.
American flag recovered from
“She told me she was 19,” Taylor,
Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks,
standing with his hands clasped
and later escorted the 9-year-old’s
behind him, said in court as he
small brown casket into the church
admitted having intercourse with
as little girls about her age cried.
the prostitute, who turned out to
Several hundred other mournbe a Bronx runaway. Taylor said
ers lined a road near the church to
he now knows the girl was 16 and
show support.
legally incapable of consent.
Christina Taylor Green was born
He said he paid her $300.
on Sept. 11, 2001.
Harry Carson, a former teamChristina’s funeral is the first for mate and fellow Hall of Famer, was
the six victims killed when police
in the courtroom and gave Taylor
said a gunman opened fire on a
a supportive handshake when he
crowd at an event for Rep. Gabrielle
arrived.
Giffords.
Prosecutor Patricia Gunning said
The third-grader had an interest
the plea deal was acceptable in part
in politics and had recently been
because Taylor had assisted in inveselected to her student council.
tigations into human trafficking
since he was charged. Another prosecutor, Arthur Ferraro, said outside
court that Taylor “was of assistance
in the field of human trafficking in
Top 10 Reasons To Buy The New
several jurisdictions and with fedSnooki Book – Read by Snooki Jan.
eral authorities.”
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Defense attorney Arthur Aidala
10. 200 pages of hangover cures.
said that “obviously” included a fed9. If you’re watching this show, then eral case against the man charged
your standards can’t be too high.
with being the 16-year-old’s pimp.
8. J-Woww gave it 5 wowws.
Aidala said Taylor decided the
7. It’s so good, Pauly D. wants to learn plea bargain was in everyone’s best
to read.
interest.
6. Show me your reciept and I’ll grind
“He could have taken a much
with you at any nightclub of your
more aggressive road but he decided
choice.
it was in the best interest of he and
5. Includes helpful tips on how to
his family and the young woman to
clean Ron-Ron juice out of your
put this behind him,” Aidala said.
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“Mr. Taylor’s not proud of what hap4. If everybody buys my book, the
pened. ... He patronized a prostitute
economy will be fixed.
and that prostitute happened to be
3. Comes with a blank page where
under the age of 17.”
you can stick your gum.
Taylor had resisted a plea deal
2. If you don’t, I’ll send a juiced-up
for months after pleading not guilty
guido to your house.
to third-degree rape, patronizing a
1. The finest work of literature ever
written by an author named Snooki. prostitute, sexual abuse and endangering a child.

LateNiteHumor

Thursday afternoon but
didn’t reach a verdict. They
were expected to continue
their deliberations Friday.
Hamama, a naturalized
U.S. citizen who formerly
lived in the Detroit area, is
charged with conspiring to
act as an unregistered agent
and making false statements
to investigators.
The government noted
that he made 200 phone calls
to Iraqi officials in the mid1990s and received payments
or meals worth about $800.
Hamama published a magazine that was pro-Saddam. A
video of a Washington, D.C.,
party in 1996 shows him
calling Saddam the “champion of the Arab world.”

Prosecutors said in December
that Taylor had been offered a
six-month jail term and 10 years’
probation in exchange for pleading
guilty to a felony. Aidala had called
that offer unacceptable but said he
would listen to any other offers.
Two other members of the
Giants’ 1991 Super Bowl team are
behind bars. Mark Ingram Sr., a
star receiver, is spending nearly 10
years in federal prison for money
laundering, bank fraud and bail
jumping. And the electrifying kick
returner Dave Meggett was sentenced last year to 30 years for criminal sexual conduct and burglary.
Taylor’s trial would likely have
started within a few weeks.
He was arrested May 6 after the
underage girl’s uncle contacted
New York City police. Officers from
Ramapo woke him at a Holiday Inn
in Montebello.
Police said he was cooperative
and no drugs were found in the
room, although a bottle of alcohol
was. Taylor has a history of drug
offenses but has been to rehab and
his lawyer says he has been sober

for years.
“The whole L.T. persona, to me
that’s an act,” Carson said before
court. “I’m here for Lawrence Taylor.
I’m not here for L.T. ... Once he went
through some of the stuff he went
through, he realized that was a hindrance to himself and his family.”
In court, Carson, sitting in the
front row of the gallery, reached
over a low wall into the defendant’s
area and straightened Taylor’s overcoat collar.
In a related case, federal prosecutors in Manhattan filed a complaint
last year against a man who is
accused of acting as the girl’s pimp.
Court papers in that case say Taylor
admitted to sex acts with the girl
but said he was told the girl was 19.
Ramapo police Chief Peter
Brower said after Taylor’s arrest that
ignorance of a minor’s age is not a
defense to third-degree rape.
Aidala had claimed that Taylor’s
arrest was illegal because police did
not have a warrant when they burst
into his suburban hotel room in
May. Prosecutors said no warrant
was required and state Supreme

Court Justice William Kelly rejected
the claim. But he granted a pretrial hearing on whether statements Taylor made upon his arrest
were admissible. Aidala said in
December he was relishing the
chance to cross-examine the arresting officers.
Taylor was inducted into the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in 1999. A
fierce, athletic linebacker, he redefined his position and was selected
to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary AllTime Team.
In 2009, he competed in ABC’s
“Dancing With the Stars.” He had
also been a spokesman for the
NutriSystem weight-loss company,
but he was dropped after his arrest.
Sentencing is March 22. That
same day, state Supreme Court
Justice William Kelly will determine
what level of sex offender status
Taylor will have. Aidala said he will
suggest Level 1, which he said would
mean checking in once a year with
local police.
Aidala said he would seek to have
Taylor’s probation moved to Florida,
where the former player now lives.

FORMER NFL FOOTBALL STAR Lawrence Taylor, center, is escorted from the Rockland County Courthouse, Thursday,
Jan. 13 in New City, N.Y., after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute. AP
photo

Page 3

StatesmanCampus News

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

Soft opening introduces new USU app Briefs

By ALLIE JEPPSON
staff writer

One of USU’s latest projects, the USU iPod App,
has been approved by Apple and is now open for
public use.
The application was originally set to be released
Jan. 1, but the date was preceded and revealed on
Apple iTunes Dec. 30, 2010.
“We like the soft opening,” said John Devilbiss,
USU’s executive director of public relations and
marketing. “It was a chance to make sure it was all in
place and in very good timing for the return of our
students.”
“It’s a welcome back gift,” DeVilbiss said.
Although the app did cost the University around
$6,000, the application is free and, “we want to keep
it free,” he said.
“We’re happy first of all, that Apple accepted it.
That puts us in a very good place because it essentially provides USU with an international platform
on which to build and anywhere you go in the world
you can pull up the USU app. It really puts USU in
students’ pockets,” DeVilbiss said.
Lacey Nagao, ASUSU’s public relations director,
was the student voice for the USU application. It was
she who proposed the bill to the Executive Council
for the application funding as well as student support.
“It makes USU progressive. I feel that as a student,
I want to be a part of a progressive university,” Nagao
said.
The application can be previewed on iTunes
and is a USU original, with a Utah State University
themed templates and widgets specifically specialized for the benefit of the students. It includes things
such as a USU event calendar, bus routes, banner login and an office directory.
“What’s unique about this, is that we didn’t
engage an outside, cut-and-paste model,” DeVilbiss
said. “This is truly a USU-generated application that
we did in conjunction with Utah State University’s
PR office and the student ASUSU through the
Interactive Design for Instructional Applications and
Simulations (IDIAS).”

IDIAS is a department within the university
whose objective, according to their website, is to
“build on USU strengths in instructional design,
interactive simulations and interface design to
inform technology research and develop commercially viable and innovative products” through partnering with different entities on campus. Such was
the case of the iPod application.
“The guts of it is where the instructional tech
team comes in, they have all this wonderful expertise. Everything had to be though out very carefully,
and involved USU all the way,” Devilbiss said.
Yuxuan Wang, a Ph.D. student in the Computer
Science Department, was the lead programmer of
the application with Brett Shelton, a lead investigator for IDIAS as well as a faculty member for the
department of Instructional Technology & Learning
Sciences, overseeing specific milestones, working
with the Public Relations Office and making sure all
agreements were in place.
The application began with a grant Shelton had,
to help build a mobile application authoring system
to assist hearing-impaired youth in their math skills.
“The PR office knew that we were working on
mobile apps as part of the grant,” Shelton said, “and
decided that it would be a good idea to build our
own app rather than go through a thirrd-party company.”
Shelton also said with a third-party company
involved the costs can vary and they would then keep
the application code and programming and sell it to
others, possibly making the USU application common and less unique. Because USU developed their
own app they also own all of the rights.
For Wang, the actual process of developing an
application through a program called Objective C,
took about a semester’s worth of time not only to
code and design the whole thing, but also to test the
application, make some minor adjustments, and
make sure the look and feel were an acceptable representation of the university.
“It took hard work for several different entities,”
Nagao said. “The app would not have been possible
without support from current students, alumni, and
prospective students, but ASUSU officers understood the benefits the app would have on students.”

Many other groups were involved as well.
Shelton said artists were also used in the process
to create the graphics and many of the different features, called widgets. The Public Relations office was
also heavily involved in the “coordination between
all of the groups.”
Shelton said, “We wanted to make sure people
liked the way it looked and that the PR office was
pleased with how it worked.” However, Shelton said
the app is for the students, “and we want the students to be proud of it.”
Several students have already added their own
opinions to the iTunes USU application page, reporting elements they like and think could be improved.
Many of those who left comments appreciated features such as the events calendar, maps and campus
news.
However, there have been opposing comments to
make the application look more app-like and less like
a web page.
“Are we perfect? No,” DeVilbiss said, “but are we
striving for perfection? Yes. The comments help and
we’re looking for suggestions. We’ll make adjustments along the way.”
“We just think its a great tool for our students
and it’s a good start,” DeVilbiss said. “It’s a work in
progress, it’s an application that we truly want to be
useful and practical for students so we’re very open
to ideas and suggestions. We encourage students to
download it and use it and say what they like and
don’t like and things they would like us to add to the
application.”
The release of the iPod application is only the
beginning, step one. Phase two is now in process.
“The key to that phase will be the introduction
of the app to android users,” DeVilbiss said. “We’re
meeting with the app team next week and I expect it
to occur before the end of the spring semester.”
Because Android uses a different programming
language than that of apple, the process of making
an Android app will be a different process, Shelton
said.
– allie.jeppson@aggiemail.usu.edu

Guns: Professor says gun control is a “non-issue”
-continued from page 1

ture accountable for their actions.”
Michael Sowder, associate professor of English,
said he acknowledges the role that psychological
impairments may have played, but finds it hard to
ignore the lack of restraint in political discourse.
“The hostile, inflammatory, violent discourse
one finds in places like talk radio can play a role in
inciting an unstable person toward violent action,”
he said.
Professor Lyons said the accusations and pointed fingers are evidence of the highly polarized and
deplorable state of US politics. He said people on
both the left and the right are responsible for creating the highly charged atmosphere current in U.S.
politics.
“When a senator like Bob Bennett loses his seat
for daring to take what I would consider to be a
responsible position in the national interest that
happens to be moderate and bi-partisan, we really
have a problem in the United States,” Lyons said.
Cann said one of the tragic aspects of this shooting has been the general response from U.S. politicians and activists.
“I’m deeply disappointed in the individuals on
the left and on the right who have tried to make
this a political issue rather than sitting back and
allowing respectful civilized mourning for an

unspeakable tragedy,” Cann said. “It’s more than a
little sad.”
One of the main topics of interest following this
tragedy is the age-old debate on gun control.
“Events like this ought to make us think about
what we’re doing in society,” Cann said. “It was
actually the shooting of Ronald Reagan and his
assistant Mr. Brady the led to the passage of the
Brady law that we think of today as providing some
degree of protection against the violent use of firearms.”
Camp said, “We should avoid passing policies
in a time of duress because such policies are rarely
effective.”
“We feel that any policies that need to be
looked at should be examined in a timely manner,” he said, “but we want open, honest and calm
debate.”
Professor Larry Boothe, who teaches on national
security policy on campus, said the issue of gun
control will simply go away as it has before.
“I don’t think gun control will be overturned
in my lifetime or my children’s,” he said. “The second amendment can’t be trumped, it’s an ironclad
amendment. The Democratic Party has given up
on implementing more strict gun control.”
To him, gun control is a non-issue because he

claims it won’t stop violence.
“I have served in a number of countries where
citizens are not allowed to have guns and these
countries are full of violent gangs and militias,”
Boothe said. “I’m very sorry to have these kinds of
events take place, but we’re going to see a lot more
of them.”
Sowder said the fact that countries such as
Canada, England and France have fewer homicides
is because they have tighter gun control.
“In a state like Arizona, where anyone can carry
a concealed firearm, even without a permit,” he
said, “it obviously makes it easier for someone
deranged to be able to easily kill another person.”
Jennifer Sinor, associate professor of English,
said she believes the problem runs much deeper
than gun control.
“I don’t know what the solution is,” she said,
“but I do think that what we do every day in the
classroom at universities like Utah State is a step
in the right direction. Fear comes from ignorance,
and the classroom has the power to teach us how to
build a more socially just world.”
– mike.burnham@aggiemail.usu.edu

Campus & Community

Powder wagon to
carry students to
Beaver Mountain
The inversion got you down?
The Outdoor Recreation Program
(ORP) has the perfect therapy with
their first USU Powder Wagon
shuttle to Beaver Mountain Ski
Resort.
The USU Powder Wagon carries
USU students to Beaver Mountain
and back once a week. Charging
$5 a person, round trip, the shuttle alternates each week between
Wednesdays and Thursdays to
include students with differing
schedules. “This is a great opportunity for students who don’t
have cars or don’t know how to
ski,” said ORP Coordinator Brian
Shirley. “Plus, $5 is definitely
cheaper than driving your own car
anyway.”
The next shuttle leaves
Wednesday, Jan.f 19, at 8 a.m.
and returns as Beaver closes at 4
p.m. Students wanting to ride the
shuttle can reserve a seat by coming into the ORP or calling 435797-3264.
As the shuttle’s popularity grows, another shuttle can
be added and driven up both
Wednesday and Thursday. The
shuttle is an answer to the masses,
according to Shirley. “The buzz
has been that students want a way
up to Beaver without driving their
own car,” said Shirley.
For any question please contact
the ORP through 435-797-3264, or
email Brian Shirley at brian.shirley@usu.edu.

Fellowship award
for $500 available
The Utah Humanities Council
offers financial support for student research in the humanities.
Two fellowships, one for undergraduate students and one for
graduate students, are offered
in the spring to support student
research in the humanities.
The maximum student fellowship award in $500. Fellowship
funds may be used to pay the costs
of equipment, supplies, software,
technical support, or travel to do
research or to report on the results
of research at a professional conference.
Application deadline: March
1. Joyce Kinkead, Associate VP for
Research, noted that in the twoyear history of these Fellowships,
USU students have been consistent
winners.

Skiing intro class
Art: Professor says a student would know where to look for pottery starts this weekend
The USU Outdoor Recreation
Program, in partnership with
the College of Natural Resources,
and Exum Mountain guides,
will be offering an Intro to Ski
Mountaineering course at the
Blind Hollow Yurt Jan. 14-17.
Sign up at the ORP shop (east of
Romney Stadium) or call 435797-3264 by Thursday Jan 13 at 6
p.m. E-mail: usuorp@usu.edu for
more information.

-continued from page 1
Neely said he does not think whoever stole the
items in question did it out of jealousy or revenge.
Rather, he said the motivation was likely “genuine
aesthetic admiration.”
In other words, he said the person who committed the act probably did so because they liked the
pottery and wanted to keep it for themselves.
“I don’t think anybody is going to go out and try
and sell them,” Neely said. “It’s not that easy to sell
pots, even when you do know where they’re from.”
Senior ceramics major Jake Herbert said he
bought some of Dupont’s work because he admired
it. Herbert said he overheard an individual asking
Dupont to give some of his pieces away “for free.”
“There was a student, not a ceramics student,
who was looking at his work and said, ‘You know,
you should just give me some of those,’” Herbert
said. “Very soon after that is when they went missing. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Dupont said his research and thesis were based
around a certain method of firing the pottery in the
kiln. Some pieces required multiple firings which is
the reason they were stored in the kiln area.
He said the loss of so many pieces was a major
setback that came at a bad time.
“I kind of felt like, you know, if this work is really
important to me I could confront this guy and talk
to him and not really point my finger ..., but even
just say, ‘Look dude, this really screwed me over,’”
Dupont said.
An individual looking to take something would
have to know where the pottery is stored before it
gets fired in the kiln, Neely said.
“Just an out-and-out thief, yeah that’s a possibility,” Neely said, “but also somebody who is just

Competition to
host seven teams
from county

POTTERY BELONGING TO GRADUATE student Robin Dupont was stolen from the Fine Arts
building. The loss of his pieces was “ a major setback that came at a bad time.” ANIE AGHABABYAN photo

unbalanced.”
You must have a building pass to stay past midnight in the building, according to the FAV building
policy. Neely said students are allowed to use the
ceramics lab before 11 p.m. without a pass.
Dupont knows all of his fellow graduate students
and they are all on good terms, Neely said. He also
said the ceramics lab and the art department are, for
the most part, secure places.
Neely said in the 27 years he has taught at USU
there have only been a handful of cases in which artwork was stolen. He said he can remember almost

all of them.
“I’ve had students take some of my pieces that
I’ve used for demonstrations and glaze them and
fire them and turn them in for a grade,” Neely
said, when asked if any stolen work has ever been
returned. “So yeah, they’ve been recovered that way.”
Capt. Steve Milne of the USU Police Department
said they have no leads at this time.

The Department of Engineering
and Technology Education (ETE)
will be hosting the 2nd Annual
USU Regional VEX Competition for
middle and high school students
Saturday, Jan. 15, in the lobby
and on the second floor of the
Engineering building.
VEX is the largest and fastest
growing robotics competition in the
world for middle and high school
age students. VEX also hosts a college division. This year, 17 teams
have registered for the USU event.
One is from Idaho, two are from
Colorado, and 14 are from Utah.
Seven of the Utah teams are from
Cache Valley.

– dan.whitney.smith@aggiemail.usu.edu

-Compiled from staff
and media reports

CampusNews

Page 4

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

ASUSU meets for the first
time in the new semester
President Tyler Tolson presented new plans for the
student recreation center and said the bill to eliminate the CIL tests passed faculty senate, and the
student fee board will meet Jan. 27 to discuss fee
changes.

By Rob Jepson
staff writer

In Wednesday’s ASUSU executive council
meeting, council members reconvened and
provided updates on some of last semester’s
on-going projects.
Executive vice president Brent Crosby
reported the new USU iPhone application was
up and running and that he had downloaded
it to his phone.
“It works great,” he said.
PR Director Lacey Nagao said the USU
“app” board would meet next week to discuss
phase two of the plan, which she said should
include the release of the android version of
the application.
Crosby announced he will be meeting with
new Utah State lobbyist Neil Abercrombie to
make the final decision on which issue the
university will lobby for at the Utah congress
this year.
Crosby also said he hopes to make the traditional Aggie Ice Cream handout at the capitol an official university event. In the past,
student lobbyists have handed out ice cream
at the capitol in order get congresspeople’s
attention, he said. He hopes that in the future,
President Albrecht may be able to attend the
hand-out to draw more attention to USU and
raise awareness of the university’s needs.
President Tyler Tolson announced the
bill to eliminate the CIL test requirement
to graduate had passed faculty senate on
Monday. He said the higher administration
is currently discussing the option of letting
students choose to include the CIL testing on
their graduation transcripts.
Tolson also said he had just seen initial

stages of architectural drawings and space
studies for the proposed student recreation
center (tentatively named Aggie Recreation
and Community Center, or ARCC) which were
presented to vice president for student services James Morales and campus recreation
director Kevin Kobe on Monday.
Athletics vice president Alex Putnam
named the USU men’s basketball team as the
“USU Hot Team of the Week as awarded by
Alex Putnam.” He also announced the USU
“Sports Week,” had been postponed until
February, and he would be moving to change
the name to “HURD Week” and collaborate
with the student club to plan activities for it.
Student advocate Dan Ricks said the student fee board would be meeting Jan. 27 to
vote on changes proposed by various institutions on campus. The student fee board consists of ASUSU adviser Linda Zimmerman,
assistant vice president for student services
Eric Olsen, Morales, and roughly 20 students,
Ricks said. After the fee board has voted on
the student fee increase proposals, they will
forward their recommendations to Albrecht.
Each year different organizations around
campus, such as the library, the Aggie Shuttle
and athletics may submit requests to raise
student fees in order to cover their expenses.
When an organization submits a request to
raise the current fee appropriated to them,
the request is processed by the student fee
board. When an organization submits a
request for an entirely new fee, such as the
$65 athletics fee last year, the entire student
body must vote on it. Ricks said usually about
two-thirds of the requested funding from any
given organization is granted.
– robmjepson@gmail.com

Vigil: Artist “feels honored” to sing
-continued from page 1
Flores is now a criminal
defense attorney, and said that
every day he aims to be the
citizen King tried to teach the
American people to be.
“I spend each day of my life
advocating for justice,” Flores
said. “I have not done enough,
not nearly enough.”
Flores said King was not
only an advocate for racial
equality in U.S., but an advocate for equality to all people
throughout the world. King
believed that to uphold the
freedoms of equality in the
U.S., the American people
needed to stand up to discrimination occurring outside
of the country, he said.
Currently, minorities are
prominent in the court systems, and the law keeping
homosexuals from serving in
the military has been lifted,
he said. However, he said he is

aware that there is more to be
done.
“Every woman earns 78
cents on the dollar that a
man earns for the same job …
Liberals and Conservatives see
each other as enemies,” Flores
said.
He encouraged the audience to find ways in the
community to reach out and
improve the circumstances
of others. His suggestions
included working at a soup
kitchen, talking to children
about setting goals toward
higher education and tutoring
elementary and middle school
students.
“If you and I rise up to this
challenge people may speak
about us one day the way we
speak about him (King,)”
Flores said.
Following Flores’ speech,
attendees assembled outside of

the TSC to light white candles
and walk to the Quad together
for a moment of silence. The
group stood in silence and
were encouraged to remember
King’s impact on the U.S. and
remember the blessings of
equality.
Brighton said over the
course of organizing this event
she has read many of King’s
philosophies and realized for
the first time that his concept
of a “beloved community” is
attainable, and doesn’t require
a “utopian” nation.
“What Dr. King stood for
is the epitome of why I’ve
been hired to do what I do,”
Brighton said.
“He is the key inspiration
for the work that I do – what
inspires me most.”
– catherine.meidell@aggiemail.
usu.edu

Get Ready to Ski SALE!
We have daily, weekend,
week or season Ski Rentals!

History of USU civil rights remembered
American history and a course on the Civil
Rights movement. Around that time, there were
only a handful of black students, mostly athletes.
While tensions existed within members of the
In 1968, the Rev. Martin Luther King was
community, Peterson said attitudes among the
assassinated, ending the life but not the legacy of student body were respectful, for the most part.
one of the nation’s most distinguished champi“There were little things, like you couldn’t get
ons of human rights. Utah State University stuyour hair cut in Logan,” Peterson said. “For the
dents honored King Wednesday with a candlemost part, it (was) a low-key, safe environment
light vigil and on Monday will join the nation in and you’re here for a few years.”
celebrating the holiday in his name.
According to documents in the USU archives,
King organized a campaign of non-violent pro- in 1961, just three years before the Civil Rights
tests against the civil injustices of
Act, there were a dozen black
his time and in 1964 was awarded “There were
students, one of whom, Charles
with the Nobel Peace Prize. At the
Belcher, was elected second
time, he was the youngest recipi- little things, like Vice President of the Associated
ent of the award. That same year, you couldn’t get Students of Utah State University.
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
your hair cut in In addition to that office, Belcher
passed, bringing a legislative end Logan ... For the was chairman of the committee
to discrimination on the basis of
most part it (was) for union building activisex and race.
ties and a member of the
a low-key, safe
The state of Utah is unique in
varsity track team. Peterson
many ways on the subject of civil environment and said Belcher went on to
rights. Until 1978, The Church of you’re here for a be a minister. Since then,
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, few years...”
there have been few black
the predominant religious body in
students in the elected posi– Ross Peterson, tions of ASUSU, but among
the state, denied its priesthood to
black members, adding tensions to
V.P., Advancement that group is Dan Gowan,
the issue long after the civil rights
who was elected student
acts of the 1960s. More recently,
body president in 1993.
in 2000 Utah became the last state to recognize
After the civil rights acts were passed,
Marin Luther King Jr. Day. Until then the holiPeterson said extra scrutiny was placed
day had been known as Human Rights Day.
on the LDS church for its policy regarding
the priesthood.
Civil Rights at USU
“When I came in ’71 that was a huge issue,”
Ross Peterson, vice president for advancePeterson said. “It caused some confusion.”
ment, came to USU in 1971 and taught AfricanWhen the church began offering the priesthood to black members, Peterson said that
slowly, the existing tensions began to ease.
“It wasn’t easy for adults who had their ideas
of why this was so. Those types of attitudes don’t
die easily,” Peterson said. “As far as the students,
it certainly relaxed tension if their had been any.
1961: Chuck Belcher,
By ’78, it was a different world.”

USU Today
Rica Molet, a junior from Colorado studying graphic design, is the president of the Black
Student Union at USU. She said around 40
students participate in the organization, which
hosts cultural events like the Soul Food Dinner
and Candlelight Vigil and helps with other
events like World Aids Day.
The vigils have seen successful turnouts, Molet
said, and a major part of the event is trying to
raise awareness on the campus for the Civil
Rights movement and King’s work.
“Martin Luther King changed it, not only for
the black people but for the whole community,”
Molet said.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. is celebrated in conjunction with the Civil Rights movement every third Monday in
January. USU honors the holiday annually, this year with a
candlelight vigil and program. ARMEN HOVSEPYAN photo

Molet came to USU in part due to
receiving a scholarship and also because it was
just the right distance away from her home in
Colorado.
“It was far enough away that I didn’t have to
visit very often,” Molet said.
After visiting the campus, her decision was
made.
“Right as I got on campus I knew this was the
place for me,” she said. “I love it here.”
ASUSU Diversity Vice President Kaho Fiefia
said the university made a big step with the creation of the Access and Diversity center.
“I feel like the university is moving toward
being a more diverse university,” Fiefia said.
His position extends beyond the cultural
clubs to include all campus organizations and
he said his office has been working to integrate
the student body. Many American students, he
said, are not familiar with events like Diwali and
Salsabration and as a result, attendance tends
to be lower than traditional American activities,
like the Howl. Over the years he has been at USU,
he said he’s seen an improvement.
Fiefia has worked with housing during his
time at USU and said when he began, there were
no black or Dominican resident assistant (RA).

“Now with res(ident) life we have several gay
RAs, two black RAs, one Dominican mentor and
3 Dominican RAs,” Fiefia said. “It’s happening.
It’s slow, but it’s happening.”
A ways to go
Much has changed since Peterson first
arrived at USU in 1971, both in Utah and in the
nation. In his office, Peterson has a Norman
Rockwell painting titled “The Problem We All
Live With,” which depicts a young girl being
escorted to class while onlookers throw tomatoes. The scene is a famous one, demonstrating
the first days of integrated public schools.
“It haunts me,” Peterson said. “So much of the
stuff about Obama is racially motivated.”
Peterson said it will still be some time before
we, as a country, are completely past the days of
prejudice toward those that are different from
us.
“You just wonder when it will really take
place, if it ever will,” Peterson said.
– b.c.wood@aggiemail.usu.edu

Passacaglia is an 11-letter mouthful that
describes baroque dance music of Italian
or Spanish origin. It is also the name of
the looming, steel sculpture that graces the
lobby of the Performance Hall.
On Jan. 18, as part of Celebrate
the Arts Week, the Nora Eccles Harrison
Museum of Art will open its exhibit
“Passacaglia: A Spotlight on Sculpture.”
Though the sculpture has been in place for
four years, the exhibition will provide an
in-depth look into its complex construction,
said Deborah Banerjee, the museum’s curator of exhibitions and programs.
“The sculpture is an integral part of
the building but also a piece of art in its
own right,” Banerjee said.
The size of the protruding Passacaglia
parallels its name in length. The 50by-28 creation was completed by artist
Ann Preston and her fabrication team in
September 2007. Nadra Haffar, education curator of the Nora Eccles Harrison
Museum of Art, said the piece took nearly
two years with two long summers to complete.
“Often, people don’t understand that
something that massive has to be handed
over to another crew of fabricators and engineers,” Haffar said. Preston worked with
L.A.’s Knack Studios in the construction of
Passacaglia.
“(Preston) had her hand in it quite a
bit,” Banerjee said.
“Ann Preston is one of the strangest,
most inspired, reclusive and underrated
artists working in Los Angeles,” according
to a 1993 review in Artforum International
magazine by Benjamin Weissman. Preston
was born in Seattle in 1942. In 1968, she
earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from

Tufts University in Boston and
in 1980, her Master of Fine
Arts from California Institute
of the Arts in Valencia, Calif.
She is married to a math professor. When
Passacaglia was completed, Preston lectured on campus about the intricate math
involved in creating her sculpture.
“She’s a fascinating artist because she
does sculpture in a way that reflects mathematics,” Banerjee said.
“(Passacaglia) also offers this contrast
between the geometric and the organic,”
Haffar said. “As human beings we’re always
combining those two things.” Haffar said
the harsh structures of architecture itself in
the setting of nature are an example of this
combination. Banerjee described Preston’s
style as a blend of the precise order of the
golden mean with organic chaos and said
Preston often begins designs with tessellations.
Banerjee said Preston’s Passacaglia is
a one-of-a-kind piece, though Preston has
developed other similar stand-alone pieces,
“which recall gems turned inside out,”
according to an Artforum.com review by
Cassie Wu in February 2010.
Passacaglia is constructed of large cast
stainless steel sectors welded together and
wooden segments covered with a tinted,
plaster-like acrylic finish. Banerjee called
it a mix between sculpture and painting.
Both Banerjee said Preston worked with
the architects of the Performance Hall and
that Passacaglia technically extends further
than the wall out of which it grows; the tile
floor, windows and cement in front of the
Performance Hall are in fact the limbs of the
sculpture.
The underlying structure of Passacaglia
is made of construction framing materials.
The pieces were fitted, grinded and welded
into place, a sort of skeleton that grows out

YOUNGSTERS GAZE UP at the geometric form of the Passacaglia exhibit, a feature of
Celebrate the Arts week. Ann Preston, the artist of Passecaglia, used a type of tinker toys while
designing the structure, something now used in early and secondary education to show the connection between mathematics and design. BRECK BYINGTON photo

of the metal into a defined shape, “almost a
body part,” Banerjee said.
As part of the exhibition, donated
Zometools are available for guests to
model into geometric creations. Zometools
are a type of constructive tinker toy that
Preston used extensively in her designs of
Passacaglia.
“It’s kind of an unusual show,” Banerjee
said, referring to the dominant inclusion
of so much architecture. Part of the exhibit
is a slide show that follows the step-by-step
design and installation of Passacaglia.
“There’s a lot that that piece gives us,”
Haffar said. The exhibit is up through

August in the study center of the Nora
Eccles Harrison Museum of Art.
The geometric features of Passacaglia
are so apparent that it is used as an object
lesson on the connection between art and
mathematics for elementary to university
students, Haffar said. In March, there will
be a professional development teacher workshop to learn more about the Zometools and
math and science core and how to integrate
it into teaching. For more information, contact Haffar at nadra.haffar@usu.edu.
– noelle.johansen@aggiemail.usu.edu

AggieScene

Page 6

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

14th Century knight’s story isn’t resolved in film

Be prepared for the journey of a lifetime. This is no
quest for the holy grail or
a time to storm the castle.
This is the “Season of the
Witch.”
“Season of the Witch” is
an adventure/fantasy movie
based in the Middle Ages. It
put a new spin on the true

cause of the Black Death
and some of the lives of
those who were involved
behind the scenes.
Behmen, a crusader who
has given and seen more
than his share of death,
walks away from the Church
after killing a young woman
“in the name of God.” After

a time, he gets recruited
to deliver a young woman
accused of being a witch
and the source of the Black
Death to a monastery where
she will be tried.
At Behmen’s first introduction to the witch, he
remarks that he doesn’t see
her as such. However, as he

and his companions journey, he discovers that there
may be more to her than he
initially thought. Mysterious
events occur, and perspectives change as the truth
reveals itself.
The horror aspects of the
film are more psychological
than frightening images or
blood and guts. How do
you know if a person is a
witch? Something they say?
Something they do? What
can a real witch do with all
her powers?
The Black Death and the
consequences thereof are
portrayed accurately in the
movie. Disease-ridden bodies are seen throughout the
movie, and you can easily
see why the plague became
known as the Black Death.
In his first encounter with the
plague, Behmen sees flagellants beating themselves as a
way to try to keep the plague

Staff

“Season
of
Guy XXXX
the Witch”
Grade: C+

Reel

Reviews

Spencer Palmer

away.
The movie has an ominous, dark feeling to it that
makes it easier to relate to
what the characters feel.
Even though there is an ominous setting, the movie did
seem to go by a bit fast at
some parts, when it could
have been drawn out to create more of a connection
between the characters and
the audience.
Although certain killings

- See WITCH, page 8

Nate’s top 10
games of 2010
10. “God of War III”
(PS3)
A true demonstration of the power of the
PlayStation 3, this exclusive should not be missed.
The incredible storyline
of the tragic hero Kratos
finally comes to the end
in beautiful chaos. Each
battle gets you closer
to your final showdown
against Zeus, all the while
the world is falling apart
around you. Nothing will
deter Kratos from his ultimate revenge. “God of War
III” marks the end of an era
for one of gaming’s most
memorable characters, but
the ending couldn’t be better.
9. “Donkey Kong Country
Returns” (Wii)
“Donkey Kong Country
Returns” is a true tribute to
the old school, with some
of the most ingenious level
design and game play a
platformer has ever presented. This Wii exclusive is
an instant classic. With awesome visuals and music that
flows great with the always
fresh game play, “Donkey
Kong Country Returns” is
as much fun to watch as it
is to play. The game is also
incredibly deep, offering
hundreds of unlockables
and loads of challenges
to keep you coming back
for more. “Donkey Kong
County Returns” is a great
return to the old school.
8. “Red Dead Redemption”

Top 10 of
2010

Gaming

Review

NathanChristensen

(PS3, 360)
Rockstar Productions
has forever raised the
bar for open-world video
games with “Red Dead
Redemption.” This westernthemed game creates the
biggest, most alive world
I have experienced in the
genre. With believable settings and characters, “Red
Dead Redemption” brings
to life a detailed and lifelike world we have previously only experienced in
novel and film. I invested
days into this game; it is big
– like, really big.

7. “Splinter Cell Conviction”
(360)
The story of Sam Fisher
has been a long, tragic tale
in which he has saved us
from World War III multiple times, but in the process lost his daughter, went
into deep cover, and ended
up killing his best friend.
Finally, his story comes to
an end in “Splinter Cell
Conviction.” The game fea-

- See BEST, page 7

Dashboard singer
engages crowd

Ten years ago, the history of modern music was
changed with the tentative
release of an EP titled “The
Swiss Army Romance.” A
project by guitarist/
Rhythm solo
vocalist Chris Carrabba
under the name Dashboard
Confessional, the album was
virtually unknown before
band’s rise in popularRexColinMitchell the
ity around the release of
their third album, “A Mark,
A Mission, A Brand, A Scar” in 2003.
Dashboard now has released six studio albums and
is heard everywhere from X96 to the “Spiderman 2”
soundtrack. Heck, I even heard one of their songs in a
grocery store in Italy last spring. Their sound has subtly
changed over the years, adopting a full-band sound that
is quite appealing.
But, as this year is the 10th year since the release of
that first album, the band is going back to the basics on
the Swiss Army Romance 10th Anniversary Tour.
As part of that tour, they played in Salt Lake City Tuesday
night at In The Venue. Opening the show was John Lefler
– the other guitarist of Dashboard Confessional – Lady
Danville and Chris Conley of Saves The Day, who has
had a friendship with Carrabba that predates Dashboard
Confessional. Towards the end of his set, Conley was asking for requests, and when he refused to play “Shoulder
to the Wheel” due to the fact that he didn’t have his band
with him, some dedicated fans offered to play it with him.
He invited them up on stage, handed his guitar to one of
them, and the lucky guys got to perform the song with
Chris Conley himself. It was a good thing the guys actually knew how to play the song.
Finally, Dashboard Confessional came on stage. Sort
of.
When I said they were going back to basics, you

Staff
“Swiss Army
Guy XXXX
Romance
Tour”
Grade: A

Reviews

- See MELODY, page 7

Friday,
Jan. 14, 2011

AggieScene

Pg. 7

Best: “Heavy Rain” plays
like interactive movie
with 22 possible endings
-continued from page 6
tures some of the most original stealth game-play in
recent memory with the best controls the series has had.
The clever use of color makes it a visual treat and awesome co-op and multi-player modes keep you coming
back. Not to mention the game might have one of the
coolest endings ever.
6. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” (360, PS3, Wii)
“Call of Duty” has become the definition of online
shooter. “Call of Duty: Black Ops” is no exception,
offering the deepest online experience yet in the series.
Millions of hours have already been poured into this
game. It also features a fun, challenging campaign and
an awesome co-op zombie mode for some on-the-couch
fun. The series still has staying power in the industry,
“Black-Ops” proved it.
5. “Darksiders” (360/PS3)
Darksiders is just plain fun. It is a tribute to some of the
great games of the past and present. War is a really cool
hero and the post-apocalyptic setting is a visual tribute
to comic books every where. I never got bored exploring
every corner of Darksiders’ many different dungeons and
environments. The story, however, was original enough to
make this one of the most exciting new IPs of the year.
4. “Halo: Reach” (360)
“Halo: Reach” is Bungies final tribute to Halo fans
everywhere. Their fifth and final game in the epic spaceshooter is the best to date, featuring the deepest multiplayer experience of the year and the best maps of the
series history. Constant free updates keep adding to the
fun and daily and weekly challenges keep you playing.
The campaign is awesome with some great characters
and extremely varied game play.
3. “Heavy Rain” (PS3)
“Heavy Rain” is the most original game I have ever
played. The game plays like an interactive movies with
each action drawing you deeper into the incredible plot.
The search for the Origami Killer is one of the most
memorable stories of the year and will be talked about
for years to come. You need to play this game before
the twist is ruined for you. Half the fun however will be
discussing which one of the game’s 22 different endings
you got.
2. “Super Mario Galaxy 2” (Wii)
“Super Mario Galaxy 2” is the perfect Mario game: its
challenging, inventive yet familiar, and just plain fun. Each
world offers new challenges and the level design is the
best of the 3-D Mario games to date. This is the best looking game on the Wii and the score is absolutely fantastic.
The game is very large, offering a total of 240 stars to
collect and it will take the full extent of your Mario ability
to collect them all.
1. “Mass Effect 2” (360)
“Mass Effect 2” is a cinematic masterpiece. The story
line is incredible and is directly affected by the choices
you made in “Mass Effect,” making it one of the most
personal experiences in the history of video games. Even
if you didn’t play the first game, “Mass Effect 2” is still
worth your time, featuring some of the coolest characters in recent memory, the best of them being the Illusive
Man. This ally/villain is one of the most interesting characters created to date. Game play is fast and fun with tons
of variety. The many different endings and choices along
the way will keep you playing it over and over again. The
game sets a new standard for storytelling in video games
making it the easy winner of my 2010 Game of the Year.
– nathan.c@aggiemail.usu.edu

Melody: Carrabba pays
tribute to lost friend
-continued from page 6
must understand at the time of the band’s first album,
Dashboard Confessional consisted of Carrabba and only
Carrabba. Logically, that’s what the anniversary tour
consists of. And while it would have been nice to see the
whole band, the pure intimacy of Carrabba’s live show
left nothing lacking and no one disappointed.
Coming on around 9 p.m., Carrabba grabbed a guitar
before starting, said “Hi, I’m Chris, and I’m here to play
some old s**t.” He proceeded to play the entire first
album. Fans were shouting out other songs for him to
play, but he refused to play any newer songs until he had
played the ones he was there to play. After he had finished with “Swiss Army Romance,” he took requests from
the crowd.
During the whole show, Carrabba’s piercing voice was
accentuated by thousands of voices in the crowd singing
along with him. There were even people singing harmonies and counter melodies to his songs, something that
he used wonderfully to get a full yet intimate sound. He
stood on stage, gesturing to the crowd to let them know
whether he was going to follow the album version of the
song or go on with something different.
One of the more notable performances was the song
“A Plain Morning.” Carrabba prefaced the song saying that years ago he didn’t enjoy playing it, because it
reminded him of someone very dear to him he had lost.
One of his very dear friends went missing, and he got
called to go be on the search team for this friend that
never was found. Now, he said his opinion has changed
and he enjoys being reminded of his lost friend.
Other highlights were the songs “Vindicated,” “Get
Me Right,” and “Stolen.” I say those were the highlights,
but there was honestly no boring song in the whole performance.
He finished up the night with an incredible performance of “Hands Down.” Everyone in the venue was singing along as Carrabba directed them in an ending unlike
the album version – an exhilarating finish to an exhilarating show.
It was one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. The
next time they come to Utah, don’t miss it.
– rex.colin.mitchell@gmail.com

7

AggieScene

Page 8

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

Witch: Movie is well done, but
wouldn’t recommend seeing in theater
-continued from page 6
mix of the medieval, which
became a distraction at times
for me.
I’m not much of a witchmovie lover, because my first
experience with witches who
didn’t fly around on broomsticks was “The Crucible” and
that has made me cautious of
witch hunts and movies full
of accusations. This definitely
made me feel the pain that
Behmen went through in his
dealings with the church and
his empathy for the accused.
I wanted for the young
woman to be just that, a
smart, strong, young woman,
but strange events during the
journey show that she really
may be a witch, but is that
all a facade, or is there more
going on than anyone realizes?
Nicolas Cage did a good
job as a torn knight who

becomes concerned about
someone, since he has no
real attachment to anyone –
no family, no home, and only
one close friend. Ron Perlman
did well in supporting Cage’s
character as a good friend,
a strong arm and a sense of
humor.
The other characters of
the traveling group did well
in their respective roles. Note
that although Christopher Lee
(Star Wars, Lord of the Rings)
is listed towards the top of the
cast, his role is actually quite
minor, which was a bit of a
disappointment to me, since
I enjoy his deep voice and
the confidence he brings to a
part.
The soundtrack was well
done. The music helped paint
the scenes with such style that
created a whole new level
to the tones of the movie.

There were also some great
epic elements in the score,
especially during the ending
credits, which captured the
intensity of the action and the
depth of the drama.
I gave the movie a C+
because I didn’t enjoy the
resolution at the end, which I
cannot disclose because that
would spoil the movie.
I enjoyed “Season of the
Witch” because it delved
into the journey of redemption for a knight who became
distressed by his actions and
the justifications he was told
about them. I’d recommend
seeing this movie when it
goes to the discount theater,
or for renting it when it is
released on DVD and Bluray.
– spencer.palmer@aggiemail.
usu.edu

NICHOLAS CAGE STARS stars as a 14th century knight in “Season of the Witch.” Cage shares the
spotlight with Ron Perlman and Claire Foy, who plays a woman accused of being a witch and creating the
Black Plague. The knight finds he questions whether the woman truly is such a danger and of whom he
should be afraid.

There is a word for that – finding peace through a crack in a wall

I tilted my head back
and glanced upwards at
Staff
the towering wall of sand“Big
Time”
Guy XXXX
stone which sprung up
Climbing
from my feet to scrape
the sky. As I inspected the
strikingly straight and consistent crack which split its
face, a word came to my
mind: paragon.
If the reader is unfamiliar with this term, allow
me to reassure them with
the consolation that neither was I, until a few weeks ago.
Then, my vernacular experienced a rapid proliferation
due to a truculent pattern of preparation for the GRE. As
it turns out, the higher pedagogical powers have deemed
that familiarization with obscure and arcane words is
of summative importance to one’s success in graduate
school. In order to ensure that one’s vocabulary is sufficiently burgeoning, a large portion of the GRE is constructed to test one’s knowledge of words.
I was registered to take the exam on the last Friday
of the break, which meant that many long hours of the
usually restful respite from the rigors of academia would
be dedicated instead to the inflation of my linguistic
abilities to the supernumerous. Still, I wasn’t about to
let my studies become deleterious to my recreation. So,
when an offer to climb at the fabled Indian Creek, in the
Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, was transmitted to me via textual message, I was ebullient.
Within 12 hours, my things were packed and my car

Dusty’s

Trails

Dusty Nash

was pointed toward Moab. Even though a storm was
threatening, our obdurate determination to arrive at
a location free of snow and rife with climbing routes
caused us to press on. By 7 that evening, we had arrived
in the Canyonlands. The temperature was rapidly falling
and we soon sequestered ourselves within our sleeping
bags to fend off the cold. There, armed with my headlamp
and GRE study book, I spent my last waking moments
mumbling words to myself, “amalgamate, anachronism,
anomalous, anar....”
I woke cold and stiff, trying my best not to be morose.
I had discovered that a 30-degree sleeping bag inside of
a 20-degree sleeping bag was still not enough to fend
off the cold felt in the desert of eastern Utah in late
December. I was ambivalent at the moment: miserable
from the invective of a cold night spent shivering and
excited that we were only minutes away from a climbing
adventure. A morning walk served to ameliorate my situation and once we determined that the rock had been
sufficiently warmed from exposure to the sun, we set out
for the climb.
And thusly I found myself looking up at the crack,
with strange vocabulary swirling through my mind. I was
a neophyte to crack climbing, and was relying on the
expertise of our friend, Jake. Before we began to climb,
he outlined the basic crack climbing technique. It is as
follows.
1. Shove your hand into the crack. Depending on the
crack size, you might insert only your fingers, your palm,
make a fist, or stick your whole arm in.

BECAUSE OF AWKWARD POSITIONING and difficult
bends, crack climbing can be painful, especially when cold weather is
factored in. DUSTY NASH photo

2. Rotate your leg inward as if playing Hacky Sack and
insert your toes in the crack. Your knee is then twisted
back upwards as close as it can to vertical. You know
you are using proper technique because your foot will
become secure in the crack and will also hurt a lot.
3. Repeat step one with the other hand.

4. You then step upward on your foot which is inserted
in the crack, despite your ankle being twisted at a painful
angle.
5. Your other foot is then also jammed into the crack
above the other one.
6. Jam your hands higher up in the crack.
7. Move your first foot up.
8. Repeat these steps until you reach the top of the
climb.

Crack climbing is by nature invective to the climber.
These usual pains and aches associated with the technique were exacerbated by the cold temperature. On my
first attempted ascent of a crack, I felt as if my toes were
going to break off inside of my shoes, if my ankles didn’t
give out first. Still, I remained intransigent, repeatedly
jamming hands and feet into the crack. Then the lassitude
set in and my strength began to flag. With one last effort,
I hauled myself up to chains, letting out a sigh. After I was
lowered, I rubbed my ankles to assuage the pain and still
couldn’t stop from grinning. I thought about the climb
I had just completed and climbing in general. I tried to
think of a word to sum it all up. My mind raced over the
various options I had been cramming into my cranium. I
had to smile as I came up with only a few simple words
to describe it. Looking over at Paul, I shared the words I
was thinking: “Climbing – it’s just a good time.”
Vocabulary List – For the benefit of the reader, definitions of the following words are supplied:

AGGIE FORWARD TAI WESLEY, pictured here in a game against BYU, helped USU to a 68-59 win over Boise State Thursday night, scoring six points and grabbing
seven rebounds to send the Aggies to a perfect 4-0 conference mark. Boise suffered their first WAC loss of the year, falling to 11-6, while USU improves to 15-2 overall.

How sweet it is: Aggies rope Broncos to move into first
By MATT SONNENBERG
assistant sports editor

Facing its toughest test of the conference season thus far, Utah State (15-2,
4-0) overcame an 0-8 shooting start
from the field and 21 total turnovers
to beat Boise State (11-6, 4-1) 68-59
akingover sole possession of first place
in the Western Athletic Conference.
The Broncos made it known from
the beginning that they were not going
to let Tai Wesley beat them, pounding
the senior forward in the post with
constant double and triple teams on
defense and forcing the USU offense to
produce from outside the paint. That
production did not come early on, as
the Aggies missed each of their first
four attempts from behind the 3-point
line before senior Tyler Newbold con-

nected from deep to put USU on the
board.
Still, the Aggies fell behind 11-5
early in the game before Brian Green
hit a 3-pointer, followed up by three
straight baskets by junior guard
Brockeith Pane and capped off with
another long ball from Green to put the
icing on a 12-4 scoring run, giving the
Aggies a lead which they would never
give up.
Green, who had shot just 4-14 from
behind the arch over the team’s previous three games, said after the game
that he just wanted to loosen up and
have some fun.
“Lately I just haven’t been as loose
and have been kind of tight and thinking too much,” Green said.
The senior guard rebounded with a
strong performance against Boise State,
shooting 5-6 from deep and scoring

16 points. But perhaps more than anything, Green, alone with fellow superstar off the bench Brady Jardine, served
as the momentum-killers against the
Broncos.
Bouncing back with a vengeance
from the slow start to the game, Utah
State took a 33-21 lead into halftime,
and looked to be completely in control
of the game. The Broncos however, had
a different idea.
Boise State started the second half
with a furious 9-0 run, capped off by a
La’Shard Anderson 3-pointer to bring
both the Broncos right back into the
mix, along with plenty of momentum.
Then it was the bench duo of Green
and Jardine to take their turn creating a
run, as the two combined to score nine
of the next 11 points for the Aggies to
bring the lead back to 11.
And just as the Broncos had done

before, they refused to quit, forcing a
barrage of turnovers by means of the
full court press on Utah State, which
led to seven straight Boise State points
off of turnovers.
For every Bronco run though, Utah
State had a run of its own to hold on for
the win. USU head coach Stew Morrill
felt that his team stepped up on the
defensive end of the floor when the
offense struggled.
“That’s not the way to have a good
chance to win the game,” Morrill said.
“Fortunately our defense was good and
we shot a good percentage.”
The next test might not be much
easier for USU however, as they travel to
Fresno State to face a Bulldog team that
is 3-1 thus far in conference play. Tip off
for that game is 8 p.m. Saturday.

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State
gymnast Nicole Simoneau has
been named as the Verizon
Western Athletic Conference
Gymnastics Co-Specialist of
the Week for the week of Jan.
3-9, announced Monday by the
conference office.
Simoneau, a native of
Manchester, N.H. (Central HS/
Gymnastics Village
Club) returned to action in
Friday’s season and homeopener dual meet against
Southern Utah after redshirting last season. The junior
picked up right where she left
off, winning the bars title with
a 9.825, her 26th career score
of at least 9.800 in 30 meets.
Simoneau also was fourth on
the beam with a 9.700.
This is Simoneau’s first
career WAC award and is
the first for a USU gymnast in three seasons, since
Jasmine Minion was the WAC
Specialist of the Week on
March 17, 2008.
The 9.825 by Simoneau
ranks her first in the WAC, tied
for third in the North Central
Region and tied for 23rd in the
NCAA.
Simoneau shares the WAC
Specialist of the Week honor
with Southern Utah’s Ari
Lamb, who won the beam title
on Friday night with a 9.825.
SUU’s Brooke Cersosimo was
the WAC Gymnast of the Week
after she won the
all-around title with a 38.875.
Utah State gymnastics will
stay at home for their second
meet of the season, hosting a
tri-meet inclu¥ding BYU and
No. 20 Arizona. It will mark
the first time that USU has
hosted a tri-meet since Feb. 14,
2008, when USU hosted BYU
and New Hampshire.

This article is a continuation of Wednesday’s
Statesman conversation with volleyball head
coach Grayson DuBose about his team’s recordsetting season.

GD: We wanted to compete well. The draw
is what it is, so you can’t do anything about
that stuff. We weren’t able to execute quite
in the manner that we had the week before.
But, it was a great experience. I mean, they
Utah Statesman (US): What were your
were the Pac-10 champs. That’s not such a
expectations heading into the WAC
bad conference. At the end of the day, that’s a
Tournament?
cool thing to say you were able to
do. I mean, only 19 percent of all
“I always think (Div. 1) teams in the country have
Grayson DuBose (GD): We
knew we’d have to win it to
we have a
the opportunity to do that (play
make the NCAA Tourney. That chance. I’m kind in the NCAA Tournament) in a
opportunity shows itself if
of like that guy given year.
you’re fortunate enough to win
on Dumb and
the first two games. People
US: Did the team look at reachkeep coming up and saying “oh, Dumber, who
ing the NCAA Tournament as
Hawaii, Hawaii,” but we need to thinks they have a bonus, or as something they
remember that we were down
could actually win?
a chance. You
13-10 (in a game going to 15)
in that fifth game (of the WAC have to believe
GD: (Reaching the NCAA
semifinal) against New Mexico you have a
Tournament) was a goal right
State. In our league, everyone’s chance.”
from the beginning. At the begina pretty good volleyball team.
ning of the year, we thought that
Better than everybody thinks,
was what we could do. We needed
for sure. So really, two points
to still do our work throughout
was the difference between us winning and
the WAC tournament. We still didn’t expect
losing the tournament at one point, so that’s
to sit back once we made (the NCAAs). We
really cool. That spoke a lot for the opportuare striving for sustained excellence, though.
nity we took to show some resiliency.
Coach Morrill is a great example of that. You
I always think we have a chance. I’m kind
want to talk about sustained excellence, this
of like that guy on Dumb and Dumber, who
guy’s done it for a long time. Hopefully I attrithinks they have a chance. You have to believe bute to that a little bit.
you have a chance, that “anything can happen
on any given Sunday.” We put some pressure
US: What did the seniors mean to the proon (Hawaii), and they weren’t able to respond. gram?
I mean, they didn’t even lose a set in the WAC!
We were under stress all year, so we knew how
to respond in those situations.
- See DUBOSE, page 11

UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL COACH GRAYSON DUBOSE, CENTER, with his family and Athletic Director Scott Barnes, react to news of the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament selection on
November 29, 2010. ADAM NETTINA photo

Note: This is part two of a
two part postseason interview
with Aggie football coach Gary
Andersen.
US: Do you ever think about
the state of the WAC and the
changes that have both taken
place and will take place?
GA: I really don’t. I have a hard
time worrying about things I’m
not going to be able to control,
and what I can control is what
we are as a program, who we
are as a program, and what are
the goals and core values of our
program and what we have to
be able to do. We’re very, very
fortunate at Utah State because
it is a tremendous place and
it has everything we need to
continue to be successful.
So rather than sit back and
worry about things that might
happen which I can’t control,
I’m much more interested in
worrying about the things
that I can control. First and
foremost, like I always say, take
care of the young men in the
program, and secondly, recruit.
US: When you look around
the country and see all these
coaching turnovers, does part
of you ever worry about your
job security at USU?
GA: Let me say this – there is
a lot of carryover, but each job
is different and each scenario
is different and I know when
I walked in here I knew the
goal was to always win, first
and foremost. I think in college football you have to win
football games to ultimately
keep your job. I think you can
identify, when you walk in,
what a program wants and

the direction the program is
headed, and obviously I felt
(Utah State) was heading in a
tremendous direction when I
accepted the job. I just started
a new contract and I think that
the administration looked at
it and said they were going to
sign us up here at Utah State
for another extended period
of time to continue to work to
turn this program around,
I think people understand
we are moving in the right
direction. That is a little
unique in college football,
and I appreciate that as a head
football coach, and so does the
whole staff. But do I feel pressure in year three to win? I feel
pressure every single day of my
life to win – in football and,
as I say it again, on and off
the field. I know it means an
awful lot to me as a person to
lead this football program the
right way, and not just come in
and sign 25 junior college kids
the first year and try to turn
it around, only to have some
success and then pick up and
leave. That is not my plan.
My plan is to be here for a
long time. My plan is to build
it right. My plan, I know it
takes time, and it doesn’t turn
a program around overnight
just because of the core beliefs
that we have and the way we
recruit. This is a tremendous
place. They want to win,
they all want to win, and we
all want to turn it around. I
believe they are giving me the
opportunity here at Utah State
to turn the program around
the correct way, which is from
a social standpoint, and academic standpoint, a football
standpoint.
US: What is your opinion of
players returning from injuries. Do you grant them a sense

of status on the depth chart
because of what they’ve accomplished in the past, or will they
need to compete like everyone
else for their jobs?
GA: When you step back and
talk about those two players
right there, you look at Robert
Turbin for what he did, and
Robert Turbin is going to walk
in here and be the feature
back at Utah State. There’s
no question he has been the
feature back and will continue
to be the feature back. How
he comes back from his injury
and how he continues to develop, now will Robert Turbin be
highly active in spring football
and in scrimmages? Absolutely
not, but he doesn’t need to be.
He is a proven warrior in my
opinion, and I know what he
can do. I would say the exact
same thing of Michael Smith
and I would say the same thing
of Kerwynn Williams.
The guys – the Robert
Marshalls and the Joey
DeMartinos and the Joe Hills
– at the running back position,
those are the young men who
you’re going to see get the reps.
If you look at Matt Austin,
again I would say – although
he hasn’t played a lot for us
because of the two injuries
he’s had – that when Matt
has had the opportunity to
make plays he’s shown up and
when Matt has had the chance
to be in camp and in spring
ball he’s done a tremendous
job. Matt Austin, to me, is a
proven football player. We’ll let
the other young men around
him continue to develop, but
I expect them all to be highlighted players in the program,
and I would say the same thing
about Stanley Morrison.

- See FOOTBALL, page 11

UTAH JAZZ GAURD DERON WILLIAMS goes up for a dunk in the team’s 131-125 win over
the Trailblazers Wednesday night. Williams may lay claim to being the Jazz Team MVP at the midway
point of the season, but Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire has a strong case for league MVP. AP photo

NBA Midseason Awards
The NBA season is
and 12.6 rebounds, setting himalmost halfway over,
self up to join a very elite group
which means it’s time
of players including Shaquille
Eye on
to hand out some midO’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
the
season awards. ESPN
and David Robinson as the
analysts and sports guys
players to ever average
hardwood only
everywhere love to talk
over 21 and 12 in their rookie
about who’s been the
seasons. Stats aside, his highbest through the first half
flying alley-oops and dunks are
of the season, and since I
almost incredible enough to
like to consider myself a
win him the award.
sports guy, I like to do it too. So here are
Most Improved Player: Well, go ahead
the players that I feel deserve some hard- and call me a Knicks fan, but this year’s
ware for their performance in the first half Most Improved player has to go to New
of the season.
York’s Raymond Felton. Felton was drafted
MVP: Five times in the past nine sea- fifth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in
sons, the MVP has been the best player 2005 and played in Charlotte for five
on the team with the best record. The seasons, but never really seemed to find
MVP in those years arguably deserved the his groove. He played well before, but
title, but this past decade the award has this season he has exploded onto another
been awarded to the best player on the level, and is reason number two why New
best team rather than the Most Valuable York is actually good.
Player to their team. The problem with
Sixth Man: The sixth man award was
that theory in this particular year is that all one of the tougher ones to decide, but I
of the top teams in the league don’t have got to go with the Mavericks’ Jason Terry.
one best player, they have two or three. Averaging 15.6 points and 4.6 assists a
The Spurs are the best team in the league, game, Terry is instant offense off the
but are Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker bench. He is second in scoring on the
really MVP worthy? I don’t think so. The Mavs, and when it comes to the fourth
Heat have the ultimate trio with LeBron, quarter he is arguably one of the most
Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, but it’s clutch players in the league.
hard to justify why one should get it and
Coach of the Year: This one is tough,
not the other. The Celtics with their big with two coaches who have convincing
four of Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, and Allen arguments for the award: Gregg Popovich
face the same dilemma. This year’s MVP of the San Antonio Spurs and Erik Spoelstra
should go to somebody who really is the of the Miami Heat. Now you may be thinkMost Valuable Player for their team, and ing, “Spoelstra?! The Heat?! What?!” But
that player is Amare Stoudemire. Amare is let me explain. The Heat started this year
second in the league in points per game, 9-8 and a lot of people in the Heat orgascoring 26.2 and helping the Knicks aver- nization were on the verge of pushing the
age over 107 points per game, tops in panic button. But Spoelstra calmly hanthe league. And the most impressive part dled the issues and since then has led the
about Amare? The Knicks went 29-53 Heat to a 21-1 record (as of Wednesday),
last year without him, whereas this year giving them the best record in the East and
they’re on pace to win 49 games. If Amare the second best in the league behind only
keeps it up and the Knicks win 50, Amare the Spurs. That’s pretty good coaching.
Stoudemire will be your MVP.
Speaking of the Spurs, Gregg Popovich
Defensive Player of the Year: After and his team have once again surprised
winning the last two Defensive Player of everyone with a 33-6 record. What makes
the Year awards, Dwight Howard of the Popovich’s role in this so much more
Orlando Magic looks poised to bring home impressive is the fact that Tim Duncan is
his third-straight trophy. Howard is second averaging 7 points and 2 rebounds below
in the league in rebounding with 13.1 per his career averages, yet the Spurs continue
game, fourth in blocks with 2.3 per game, to win. So despite the how close this race
and averages 1.2 steals a game – highest is, I’m giving the nod to Pop.
of any center in the league. Almost solely
Will these guys actually end up winning
because of Howard’s inside presence the the awards? Maybe, but who knows. All I
Magic are the fifth-best defense in the do know is that if the second half of the
league in terms of points allowed, enough season is like the first, we could be in for
to make him the Defensive Player of the some surprises and anything could hapYear
pen.
Rookie of the Year: This one is by far
the easiest of all the awards to give out. MARK ISRAELSEN is a freshman majoring
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin in mechanical engineering and a lifelong
is playing his rookie season this year after Jazz fan. Comments can be sent to mark.
missing 2009 because of a broken knee, israelsen@aggiemail.usu.edu.
and so far is an absolute lock to take home
this award. Griffin is averaging 21.8 points

Mark Israelsen

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

StatesmanSports

Page 11

Andersen deserves more than
lowest paid WAC coach
Well,
ship? No prob- four years in Logan.
we’re less
lem. University
Not that Andersen
than
a
Five wide: car? Of course. doesn’t feel the pressure
week past
But when a to win, however, as anyone
A football university’s big- who’s ever spoken with
the official end of
gest stage – for him will attest to. Andersen
column
the 2010
it’s programs is his own biggest critic,
college
both on and and has even made several
football
off the field staff changes following his
season,
– is sometimes team’s 4-8 season in order
and the
at the mercy of to get the Aggies over the
yearly fun of the coach- how many hours it logs hump. A relentless coming carousel has come on ESPN, it’s not hard to petitor, Andersen has put it
and gone. Well, make that see how the boom in sala- upon himself to fix USU’s
almost gone, as several ries and expectations for defensive line woes, and by
Football Bowl Subdivision college coaches has spi- naming himself defensive
(FBS) programs continue raled to complaint-worthy coordinator, he’s shown
to make staff changes proportions. Win, sell and he’s willing to do everyfrom the ground up. What excite are the name of the thing possible to avoid the
we’ve seen so far has been game for universities look- fate of his predecessors.
anything but a kiddy-ride, ing to improve their profile, Once more, he’s doing it
and with all the comings and if it means cutting ties for the right reasons.
and going, this carousel with even sucDon’t look
is enough to leave a fan cessful coachnow, but the
queasy.
es only a few “Don’t look now, lowes t-paid
Every offseason has its seasons after but the lowestcoach in the
own unique stories, but they’re hired, paid coach in
WAC doesn’t
this one has been particu- then so be it.
exactly live
the
WAC
doesn’t
larly fascinating. I mean,
It is, however,
the high life
how often do we see a a double-edged exactly live the
that some
coach lead a team from a sword. With so high life that
intellectuals
1-11 record one year to a much turnover, some intellectu- and academ9-4 season the next, only the coaching
ics complain
to take a high-profile job ranks are quick- als and academ- about when
before the start of bowl ly replenished ics complain
referencing
season, and then get fired and recycled, about when
the “outrafrom that position less than as up-and-comgeous” salathree weeks into the new ers take higher- referencing the
ries of colgig? Oh, I know, about profile – and ‘outrageous sala- lege coachnever. That is, unless you h i g h e r- p ay i n g ries of college
es.
He’s
count Pittsburgh’s untime- jobs. Athletic coaches.’”
remained
ly hire of former Miami, directors have
humble and
Ohio head coach Mike a tightrope to
faithful
to
Haywood, who was let go walk, and if they can’t offer the program, and despite
by the program following a enough to their rising stars, his salary (the 14th lowest
domestic abuse arrest.
they can find themselves in the country) he’s put in
Think that’s crazy? Try out of luck. Don’t pay your an insane drive to improve
this one: how often do you head coach enough or the Utah State football and
see a coach lead a team offer a big enough stage its young men.
to a turnaround season and he could be walking
Andersen has shown
and get named conference to a sweet new deal – if Utah State the love.
coach of the year, only to not to another university, Whether it be in his attackget fired before his team’s then to the NFL. -ake a ing style of defense, or in
bowl game? Not often, but look at Stanford’s Jim his desire to build men of
that’s what happened to Harbaugh, who last week integrity in the classroom
former Maryland coach signed a five year, $25 mil- and in the community,
Ralph Friedgen, who was lion contract with the San he’s been nothing but a
let go by the school’s Francisco 49ers. Or, better true Aggie since day one
Athletic Director, Kevin yet, take a peek at new in Logan. And now, as we
Andersen, amidst con- Maryland headman Randy look around the country
cerns Friedgen wasn’t help- Edsall, who felt his team’s and see so many former
ing the program sell luxury BCS bowl appearance and short-lived Aggie
boxes or filling the seats of this year was as far as the coaches leading or assistMaryland’s Byrd Stadium. program would ever go. ing major programs, let’s
These days, it’s apparently Solution? Bye-bye Storres, just hope that when the
not just enough to win col- hello College Park.
time comes, the powers
lege football games, but
It’s amid this delicate that be reward Andersen
head coaches need to win balance that USU’s own for everything he’s done.
football games while put- Gary Andersen walks the
ting fans in the stands and line. Andersen is heading
creating a sense of excite- into his third year in Logan
Adam Nettina is a senior
ment at the University and – a third year which many
majoring in history, and
within the community.
programs judge to be the
member of the Football
But that’s to be expect- critical year of whether
Writers Association of
ed, right? After all, we do or not a coach really can
America. While not
live in a day and age where turn a program and team
watching college football,
head coaches are not only around. Thankfully, Athletic Adam can be found in the
paid in the multi-millions Director Scott Barnes
Statesman office making
on a yearly basis, but also seems intent on giving
paninis.He can also be
have perks that rival a Andersen more time than
reached at adam.nettina@
high-stakes D.C. lobbyist. say, former USU coach
aggiemail.usu.edu.
Country club member- Brent Guy, who only lasted

Adam nettina

DuBose: Success a “big deal”
-continued from page 9
GD: As wonderful as they were at playing
volleyball, they’re even better people. They’ve
beaten some nice teams over the course of
their careers. They’ve been a fun group. You
can’t say you always enjoying being around
certain people, but I can honestly say that
about this group.
US: What is your expectation for next season
and the program going forward, and what
does making the NCAAs do for it?
CD: We were able to accomplish our goals,
and that’s a cool thing to be able to do.
People around the state are starting to notice
what we’re doing. We have a wonderful place
here, with a supportive student body. I really
appreciate them. It’s not 10,000 strong, but
they heckle and I’m proud that they support
USU athletics in general. I’ve had opposing

coaches tell me how difficult it is to play
here, and that’s an attribute to the students.
We have a great university here, and we take
that to our recruits. It helps to tell them that
this year, we were 3-1 against in-state teams,
including having beaten BYU. Our only loss
was to UVU, which we were up two sets to zip
and should have never let slip away. Josselyn
(White) got that injury and … ugh.
We were the only team in the state to go
to the NCAAs this year. We’ve beaten BYU
the last two years, beat Utah at Utah, and
Weber. You sell that stuff throughout your
program. But the university sells itself. Cache
Valley sells itself. I don’t know if I could put
(the importance of this seasons’ success) into
words, but it’s kind of a big deal.
– rhett.wilkinson@aggiemail.usu.edu

Football: Turbin a feature back
-continued from page 10
US: Is it hard coaching at a “basketball” school,
or does the team’s success help you?
GA: I think it absolutely helps. You hear it all
the time – at different places it’s this kind of
school or that kind of school, or this may be
a basketball school or this may be a football
school – at different places all over the country. (We’ve) had tremendous success with
the basketball program and continue to have

tremendous success, and I look at that as nothing more than a huge positive for the football
program. I think it brings tradition. I think it
brings expectation, which is a good thing. I also
think it allows kids in the program, whether
in football, basketball, softball, volleyball, or
whatever they may be, it makes athletics more
important in the University.
– adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu

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headlines from The Statesman. Who
wouldn’t?”
Register at
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Page 12

Friday, Jan. 14, 2011

World&Nation

BOOT No retrial of Black on tossed charges
CAMP
bodyrebellion.
com

$17.50

CHICAGO (AP) – Conrad
Black got some good news
in his long-running legal
saga when U.S. prosecutors
announced Thursday that
they don’t intend to retry
the former media mogul on
fraud convictions that an
appellate court had tossed
out.
During the status hearing in Chicago, Judge Amy
St. Eve also set a June 24
resentencing date for Black
on two convictions that
appellate judges did uphold
in October. Defense attor-

neys asked for a June date to
give them a chance to appeal
Black’s case at the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Black – whose media
empire once included the
Chicago Sun-Times, The
Daily Telegraph of London
and smaller papers across
the U.S. and Canada – was
freed on bail from a Florida
prison last year as he
appealed his 2007 conviction for defrauding investors
in Hollinger International
Inc.
The Canadian-born Black,
66, looked relaxed during
his appearance at the courthouse, standing with his
hands in his pockets, surveying the courtroom before
proceedings started and
huddling with his lawyers.
As he walked to a waiting car after the 15-minute
hearing, he sounded upbeat
when asked if he thought he
would manage to stay out
from behind bars.
“I am hopeful,” he said,
before ducking throngs of
cameras and stepping into a
black sedan.
While prosecutors could
have chosen to retry Black
on the overturned convictions, the appeals court
strongly discouraged that
course in its October ruling,
warning that the government risked throwing scarce
resources at drawn-out litigation.
At the resentencing in
June, St. Eve could decide
that Black, who had served
two years of his 6 1/2-year
sentence, should return to
prison for months or years
more. She could also sen-

tence him to time served,
thereby setting him free for
good.
St. Eve said Thursday she
would ask for a new pre-sentencing report from federal
authorities to help guide her.
At the resentencing, both
sides will be able to present arguments or even call
witnesses to back up their
positions on what would
constitute an appropriate
sentence.
Before proceedings even
get to that point, the defense
hopes for a positive sign
from the U.S. Supreme Court
that it might consider overturning Black’s two remaining convictions.
Black’s attorney, Miguel
Estrada, told the judge the
defense intends to ask the
Supreme Court by February
to review the case. Before
Black’s lawyers could file a
full appeal, the high court
would have to agree to hear
the case – something that is
far from a given.
As he left the courthouse,
Black said he understood
his fate is in the high court’s
hands.
“We are waiting on the
Supreme Court,” he said.
St. Eve scheduled another
status hearing for May 9.
She denied a request by the
defense for Black to be able
to skip that hearing, saying
he would have to appear.
Black is barred from leaving the United States while
out on bail, and his Britishissued passport seized by
the court has now expired.
St. Eve signed a one-page
order this week that would
serve as his new ID, enabling

FORMER MEDIA MOGUL CONRAD BLACK arrives at
federal court in Chicago, Thursday, for a status hearing in his bid to
remain free. Black was released last year from a Florida prison while
he appealed his conviction. AP photo

him to travel by air within
the continental U.S. After
his release from prison on
bail, Black moved into an
oceanfront mansion in Palm
Beach, Fla.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals had reversed
two of Black’s fraud convictions in October by citing
a landmark Supreme Court
ruling in June that sharply
curtailed the disputed “honest services” laws that underpinned part of Black’s case.
At the same time, it let
stand one fraud and one
obstruction of justice conviction, concluding they were
not affected by the Supreme
Court’s ruling. The fraud
conviction, the judges found,
involved Black and others
taking $600,000 and had

nothing to do with honest
services: They concluded it
was straightforward theft.
The Supreme Court’s
ruling scaling back the honest services laws offered a
lifeline to Black and other
public figures convicted at
least in part based on the
provisions, including Jeffrey
Skilling, the former CEO
of disgraced energy giant
Enron Corp.
Defense lawyers have
criticized honest services
laws as vague and a last
resort of prosecutors when
they couldn’t show money
changed hands. Watchdogs
countered they were key to
fighting white-collar and
public fraud.

Broadway Spidey
delayed again
NEW YORK (AP) – The Broadway production of “SpiderMan: Turn Off the Dark,” plagued by financial problems and
injuries including a stunt man’s 30-foot fall after his safety
harness malfunctioned, has delayed its opening night for a
third time.
Producers said Thursday they need another month to finetune aspects of the show, including a new ending. Lead producer Michael Cohl promised this is “the final postponement.”
The show originally was scheduled to open Dec. 21. It was
postponed to Jan. 11 and then to Feb. 7. Now the opening
moves to March 15.
The $65 million show has become noted for its problems.
On the first night of previews, two actors were left dangling
from cables over the audience for a few minutes.
Last month, a stunt actor from New Hampshire was seriously injured when cable in his harness snapped and dropped
him 30 feet. Aerialist Christopher Tierney is recovering from
those injuries and attended a performance last week at the
Foxwoods Theatre in Times Square.
Tierney went backstage Jan. 7 to wish the castmembers
good luck and then watched the performance from the safety
of the orchestra seats.
“It’s what I’ve been waiting for for the past two weeks — to
see my friends and finally watch the show,” Tierney said after
that performance.
Wearing a back brace decorated with Spider-Man stickers,
he said it was “awesome” to be back.
Tierney’s appearance came 18 days after he fell into the
orchestra pit in front of a shocked preview audience. The 31year-old suffered a fractured skull, a fractured shoulder blade,
four broken ribs and three broken vertebrae during his Dec.
20 tumble.
He has blamed his injuries on a freak accident and doesn’t
accuse the producers or the creative team of carelessness. The
team is led by Tony Award-winning director and book cowriter Julie Taymor, of “Lion King” fame.
Castmate Reeve Carney, who plays Spider-Man’s alter ego,
Peter Parker, called Tierney’s return a “miracle” after the Jan. 7
performance, which was delayed twice for technical reasons.

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Hooked in the lip, eh?
Same thing happened to
me once...

Great entries this week ... and lots
of them, including ones from Cody
Carpenter and Michael David. The
winning caption, though, was submitted by THERESA HUSKINSON ,
who wins a free drink from Kellyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.
Watch again next for another chane
to win!

April 16
Today is Friday, Jan. 14,
2011. Today’s issue of
The Utah Statesman is
published especially for
Katelin Robins, a junior
majoring in FCHD from
Burley, Idaho.

Almanac
Today in History: On
this day in 1128, Pope
Honorius II grants
a papal sanction to
the military order
known as the Knights
Templar, declaring it
to be an army of God.

The Registrar’s Office would like
to remind everyone that Jan. 14
is the last day to add without
instructor’s signature and tuition
and fee payment deadline. Jan. 1517 no registration permitted.

The deadline for International
Student Exchange Programs (ISEP)
Study Abroad applications is
Tuesday, Jan. 18. Please submit your
hard-copy application to the Study
Abroad office at TCS 311. Contact
435.797.0601 or www.usu.edu/studyabroad for questions.
FOCUS (Fellowship of Christian
Books and Buddies event Jan.
University Students) begins its
19 at Watkins Printing, 110 W 1200
weekly meetings. FOCUS is a
South in Logan from 4 pm to 5:30
weekly student-led club that is
pm. This event is co-sponsored by
associated with Campus Crusade
USU Aggie CARE and the Child Care
for Christ. FOCUS meets Tuesdays
Resource and Referral Bridgerland
at 7:30 p.m. in Richards Hall 2.5
Region. This free event is provided
lounge. Please contact utahstateto help promote literacy in the valley.
focus@gmail.com for more inforThere are free activities for children
mation or call 435-592-2113.
to participate in as well, each child
will receive a free book. Check out
www.usu.edu/aggiecare for our next
The USU Outdoor Recreation
location in the community.
Program, in partnership with
If you are interested in running
the College of Natural Resources,
for a position in ASUSU, be sure
and Exum Mountain guides
to pick up your packet and get your
will be offering an Intro to Ski
creative mind spinning. We are disMountaineering course at the
tributing packets early this year at the
Blind Hollow Yurt Jan. 14-17.
TSC room 326. Elections will be held
Sign up at the ORP shop (east of
Feb. 22-25, 2011. Anyone interested
Romney Stadium) or call 435in being on the Elections Committee
797-3264 by Thursday Jan. 13 at 6
is welcome to visit TSC 333.
p.m. Email: usuorp@usu.edu for
Love playing online video
more information
games? USU researchers from the
Department of psychology need your
help! Take a 10 minute survey about
Stokes Nature Center invites ages
playing online video games and enter
12+ to a Full Moon Hike at 7 p.m.
to win a $50 gift card! All online
Jan. 15 in Logan Canyon. Bring
players are eligible for the survey.
your cross country skis or rent
Email Brady DeHart at usuvideogasnowshoes from SNC. Meet at the
mestudy@gmail.com
Logan Ranger District parking
Come to the Wellness Expo
lot to carpool. Free but space is
where interactive booths, displays,
limited, registration is required.
and health screenings will be availFor more info or to register, call
able to help make your New Year’s
435-755-3239 or visit www.loganresolutions a success! Jan. 20 10 a.m.
nature.org.
- 3 p.m. TSC 2nd floor. Find out more
information about nutrition, fitness,
relaxation, sustainability, and finanCelebrate Martin Luther King
cial health.
Jr. Day by helping replenish the
Save the day on Jan. 31 for USU
Cache Community Food Pantry.
Aggie CARE’s Family Lending
With music by local Beatles band
Library Open House. It will be held
Get Back, get $1 off admission for
from noon to 8 p.m. Edith Bowen Lab
every can of food you donate! Jan
School, west end on the 2nd floor.
17 at 7 -8:30 p.m. Whittier Center
Families are invited!
290 North 400 East, Logan. $3 or
FREE with 3 cans of food.

2pm
OLRC
The Complete
Works of William
Shakespeare
(Abridged)
Caine Lyric
Theatre
4–6pm

7:30pm

Celebration of the
Arts Grand Gala :
An Evening of
Tributes from the
Caine College of
the Arts
Kent Concert Hall

8pm
An Evening of
One Acts
Black Box Theatre

Prix Fixe
After the Show
Honoring Emeriti
Bluebird
Restaurant
For one complete
price you’ll be
tickled with a
show and treated
to dinner.
8pm
An Evening of
One Acts
Black Box Theatre
9–midnight
Poetry &
a Beverage
TSC Ballroom